


The Dance

by mhysamerica



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 14:54:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14834411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mhysamerica/pseuds/mhysamerica
Summary: Post-Captain America: Civil War. Natasha attempts to fix her relationship with Steve.





	The Dance

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this before _Captain America: Civil War_ was released, before we even knew what it was going to be about. I guessed some of it, no?

“By the way, I think you left your stereo on again,” Sharon called as she walked away. 

Steve looked at her with confused eyes.  Turning away, his eyes flicked toward his apartment door.  He pressed his ear against the cold wood—music could be heard from within.  Almost instinctively, he climbed into his apartment through his open window.  His apartment was dark, but it was not pitch black. His shield in one hand, he crept behind a wall, heading in the direction of the sound.  He then found Natasha in his living room, sitting on his armchair with her legs elegantly crossed. Donned in a red dress, it looked as if she had been there awhile.  Bing Crosby’s throaty version of “The Way You Look Tonight” was playing.

He set his shield down against the wall before leaning one shoulder against it. Avoiding her eyes, he looked down at his feet, shuffling one.  “Should’ve known it was you,” he chuckled coldly. He didn’t look too happy to see her, and that hurt. Sharp pains of guilt pierced her heart.  She swallowed the lump in her throat. As if on cue, he gazed up at her. “What are you doing here, Natasha? What is this? You hate this kind of music.”

She shrugged her shoulders, a small, timid smile on her lips.  “It grew on me, just like the guy who lives here.” With a pained sound escaping him, he looked back down, shaking his head.  She smiled to hide her sadness, standing up from the armchair and taking steps toward him.

She stopped just a breath away, looking up to meet his eyes.  “Dance with me.”

He looked taken aback.  “What?”

“I know this is wrong of me, okay?”   _I know I’m not Peggy._  “But I—” As his head dropped back down, she cupped his face with her shaky hands, her eyes desperately searching for any hint of the emotion that she was hoping to see.  “I need to feel I haven’t lost you, and this is the only way I know how right now.”

He finally looked back at her, his eyes dark and guarded.  Still, she remained hopeful, though thoroughly heartbroken.  “Steve, please.”

He clenched his jaw, but he let her drag him to the far side of the room.  She held her hand out to him, waiting for him to place his hand in hers. When he finally did, after exactly three seconds, she slid each of her fingers between each of his, her small palm easily fitting within his larger one.  With their hands up in the air, she reached up, running her free hand through his hair. He felt his heart begin to race, heavy against his ribs. She then took a hold of his free hand, guiding it to the small of her back. She swayed their bodies together, her eyes closing as she rested her head against the slope of his hard chest.

He was stiff at first, as if unsure how to respond to her affection.  But after about 10 seconds, he rested into her. He let his eyes close as he breathed her in.  They just stood that way for what seemed like hours.

He eventually loosened his hold.  He looked sadly into her eyes, alarmed as he felt wetness on his shirt where her face rested.  He kept silent; he waited for her to speak first.

She did speak, never lifting her head.  “I never meant to hurt you.” He tensed up again, a little.  She continued her thoughts, still avoiding his gaze. “You were incapacitated, I—”

She choked back a sob.  “This never would’ve happened if I didn’t do what I did.”

He closed his eyes in defeat, letting out a small breath.  “It’s not your fault, Natasha.” Slowly, so very slowly, he walked toward his armchair, sinking down heavily onto the padded leather seat.  His body was sort of hunched over, his arms resting on his knees. He looked up at her with pain in his eyes. “It’s not like you caused the war,” he said, as if he was choosing his words carefully.

“But look what happened to you!” she yelled, surprising them both.  She strode toward him, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor.  “I should’ve stayed by your side. I could’ve protected you…” Her eyes turned sympathetic, and his gaze didn’t leave hers as she touched the bruises on his face with trembling fingers.  “I could’ve avoided this.”

He tried so hard not to touch her back.  “Why did you do it?” he asked quietly, so quietly, the silence became almost intangible.  “Why did you fight me?”

She turned from him entirely, suddenly unable to bite back the sob in the back of her throat.  She took a few steps forward, away from him. She couldn’t stop herself anymore. She cried, audibly but softly.

Though understandable, her words got caught in her throat, and she found herself weeping even harder.  She couldn’t face him as she spoke. “I had to be the one to do it, Steve. I didn’t want you to get…even more hurt.”  

Before he could speak up, she continued talking, turning around to finally face him.  Even still, she couldn’t bring her eyes to meet his. Her breathing was evening out; her sobs were slowly lessening.  “You know how I grew up, where I grew up. I didn’t want what happened to me to happen to anybody else. Especially you.  I just wanted everyone to be safe. I thought I was keeping them safe. Instead, I made it worse. I should’ve just stayed.  I should’ve known you wouldn’t—” 

She suddenly went silent and stiff.

Giving her a few moments to regain her composure, he slowly stood back up.  “I wouldn’t, what?” he softly asked. His eyes felt a burning sensation of tears he could not bring himself to shed.

Finally, their eyes met again for the first time in what felt like forever.  “I should’ve known…you were doing the right thing all along.”

His jaw clenched again as though he was trying to stop himself from saying something.  Once again, she closed their distance in mere steps. She settled her hands on his hips.  For a moment, and only a brief moment, he thought about taking a step back. He didn’t.

“Steve, I’m so sorry,” she heaved a shaky breath, and she tried to stop her lips from quivering.  “I know…I know I messed up and I know you trusted me and I failed you, but—is there any way you can forgive me?”

He searched her eyes for the truth, and after moments of quiet contemplation and suffocating hushed air, he sighed, finally showing signs of the tension leaving.  He smiled a small smile, the first smile he had allowed in weeks. He grabbed one of her hands in his and locked their fingers together, pressing them against his heart.  He trailed his free hand down her other arm, wrapping hers around his neck. “Only if you dance with me again,” he said as the song came to a close. 

A sob escaped her lips as she nodded her head, fresh tears spilling from her eyes.  As they swayed their bodies along to the next track on the phonograph record, he kissed her forehead softly, closing his eyes as he savored the feeling of his lips against her skin.  She, too, closed her eyes, deeply breathing in his scent and relishing in the warmth that radiated from his body as she pulled him in closer.

“I love you,” she breathed softly.

It was the first time she had said the words out loud, though her body had been thrumming with them for what felt like months, years, even.  She felt his smile against her flesh, a tear falling in her hair. “I love you, too, Natasha,” he whispered as he snapped his head back to look at her.  Her eyes met his. “I do, I love you–”

She cut him off, standing on her toes to reach his mouth with her own.


End file.
